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BOSTON—Labor unions are turning out in force to support the Occupy Boston movement, saying protesters and workers are fighting for the same goals.

Unions representing teachers, carpenters, nurses, ironworkers and the building trades were among those who converged on the protester's encampment in Dewey Square near Boston's South Station on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, newly elected Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Steven Tolman toured the encampment to meet with protesters and pledge his support.

Many of the protesters said they welcomed the backing of unions, but said they wanted to maintain Occupy Boston as an independent movement.

The protests were sparked by an Occupy Wall Street movement in New York which grew up around anger at corporate greed and the growing divide between the wealthiest and the vast majority of Americans.